


In Dust and Shadow

by staymagical



Series: Keithtober 2019 [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Keithtober 2019, Klancetober 2019, M/M, Oregon Trail, Pre-Relationship, but vague, i don't give a shit, imagine who you want, it's mainly a childhood crush, mentions of past Sheith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-11-15 02:01:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20858378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/staymagical/pseuds/staymagical
Summary: Oregon Trail, 1845:As he lies next to Lance, Keith contemplates the past, soaks in the present, and sparks hope for the future.





	In Dust and Shadow

**Author's Note:**

> Fuck it, I'm doing this.
> 
> Sorry Merlin fandom, my prospects have broadened a bit. Not leaving you all, and definitely not abandoning my fics (hi yes Beneath the Surface, I do see you, I'm so sorry my writer's block for that one has been something terrible), just am also writing heavily for the Voltron fandom. I know I know, I hate it when fandom specific authors I follow suddenly post for another fandom I'm not interested in but uhhhh, well people like more than one thing so....sorry? Kinda? I write what I want for me, so sue me. If you haven't found my writing Instagram yet (see end notes), then this will seem a bit out the blue but it's honestly not. And just warning, there will be a fair bit more to be posted here. So if this ain't your thing, hang tight for a second, I'll get back to you in a bit :)
> 
> Happy Keithtober, everyone!
> 
> This is my first foray into any sort of October fest so let's see how far I can get before I inevitably poop out. I'll be doing Keithtober and taking prompts from several different lists I've found, as well as prompts from Klancetober and perhaps some from Kinktober as well. But the main focus is Keith so all fics will be centered around him or from his POV (and if I'm honest with myself, feature klance as well) because he's a beautiful boy who deserves a month all to himself. 
> 
> Fill for Keithtober Day 1: Stars and Space (from keithober2k19) and Keithtober Day 2: Childhood (from waywardbaz on twitter)

_ Independence Rock, 1845: _

Keith breathes in the night air, crisp and chilled and oh so refreshing. It’s a welcome break from the heat of the day and one he never wishes would disappear.

Soon. 

He’s heard the rumors of the weather out west, how the coast is mild and the snows never fall, how the land rolls with green and blue and blossoms with color during the springtime. How it's rich and plentiful and teeming with new life. With new possibilities.

New beginnings. All within his reach.

Keith sighs, blinks and the desert comes back into reality. 

It’s no lush green paradise but it still holds its own sense of beauty.

The landscape stretches out for miles in all directions, flat plains ascending into steep mountains at the very far reaches of the horizon broken only by rivers and streams here and there. It’s a world Keith had never thought he’d ever see, one he hadn’t dreamed of ever finding peace in. And yet here he is.

Though he must admit, it’s not the landscape that holds most of his attention.

Above, the darkening sky unfurls its many wonders, painting the vast openness with hues of black and navy, of purples and hints of green. Stars blink into existence, adding to the depth and vastness of the world above and Keith can’t bring himself to look away, their beauty so enticing and otherworldly from down on the ground. He used to believe the sky was nothing but inky black, bland and boring and empty of life. That’s all city life ever led him to believe.

But here, he can truly  _ see _ .

The slide of rocks underfoot and scraping of hands finding purchase breaks the relative calm surrounding Keith up on the stone landmark. But he doesn’t bother glancing over, already knowing well enough by now who it is and the peace in his heart only grows.

Because he always manages to find him, no matter where he snuck off to after supper or in the dewy hours of his night watch. It’s become a routine of sorts, one that Keith has grown strangely attached to. 

Or perhaps that’s just Lance.

Without a word, Lance sinks down beside him where the rock face levels out before dropping off. He sets his hat down, hands brushing warmth against Keith’s exposed forearms where his sleeves are still rolled, remnants of the long hot day they spent traversing through dust and dirt. It’s brief, just a simple touch in passing as Lance settles down, but it’s like a bright shooting star across Keith’s mind. 

Full of desire and longing.

Keith scans the sky as he says, “I don’t imagine I’ll ever grow weary of this.”

Beside him, Lance hums in question. “Of what?”

“The stars. The sky,” Keith waves a hand at the space above them with a wistful smile even as itches to reach out to Lance. “The vast openness of it all.”

Lance chuckles. “What, no sky in the big city?”

“Not that can be seen.” Keith shakes his head, smile dimming. “Too much smoke and fog.”

“Sounds dreary.”

Keith sighs, silently agreeing with Lance’s conclusion. He had loved the city for a while and a part of him still held some semblance of fondness for it. But after everything that had happened, everything that had driven him away to a life of seclusion and loneliness, he knew he didn’t belong there.

Especially not after joining the Smythe party. And Lance.

“Keith?” Lance ventures, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. The stars twinkle up above, seeming to dance in tempo with his heart.

“Hmmm?”

“Have you—” Lance pauses, shifting restlessly along the rock before settling with arms folded over his stomach.

“Have you ever been in love?”

The question takes Keith by surprise and he frowns up at the stars. “I’m not sure. Once, perhaps.”

They’re not memories he likes to dredge up, but they’re forcing their way to the forefront of his mind, screaming for attention and he has no choice in the matter.

Dark hair with a shock of white and a smile that radiated warmth and love and happiness. Hands that soothed cuts and scrapes even as they hardened under a carpenter’s eye and tamed the mind of a horse. Words of encouragement and teaching and guidance that built Keith up and kept him safe even when he rebelled. Even when his parents were long gone and the orphanage wanted nothing to do with him. Even when he had nothing left. He was there through it all, how could Keith not fall in love.

“What was it like?” Lance asks quietly.

Keith exhales slowly, heart clenching as it wars with the past and the present. “Terrifying.”

“How—how did you know? That you were in love.” Keith can hear the lilt in Lance’s voice, his rural accent coming to the forefront as his questions grow bolder. There’s a part of Kieth that can’t help but wonder why he’s suddenly asking these questions. If perhaps, John Murphy’s pestering about finding a wife has finally taken root and Lance has grown fond of Allura. 

And yet as selfish as it is, the other part of him doesn’t want to know. Not if it means Lance’s heart lies with another. 

“I didn’t, not at the time,” Keith revises, letting the stars above fade as the memory of warm comforting arms surround him. He basks in it, lets it fill him up and soothe away the pain and anguish. “I was much too young to know what love truly was. Only when it was lost did I understand.”

Laughter, distant and pitched reaches them from the camp below and it brings Kieth back to the present, to Lance beside him and the journey they are on. The future that awaits at the end of the trail. 

New beginnings, a fresh start. Not to forget, but to grow and build and thrive.

Keith can almost feel the warmth Lance radiates next to him, his mere presence a soothing comfort.

“Do you still love them?” Lance asks, voice quiet and small.

Keith breathes out a small chuckle, shaking his head. “I never stopped. Even after the heart did.”

Lance goes eerily quiet at that, long enough to steal Keith’s attention. He turns his head toward Lance, watching his eyes rove across the sky and is not surprised in the least to find they capture the stars perfectly. 

“Do you think you could love again?” Lance asks with a nearly indiscernible furrow of his brow. 

Keith can’t look away from his profile, mesmerized as his heart beats with new life. 

“Yes,” he says. “Yes, I think that’s quite possible.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Also, I thrive on comments and critique so hit me with them.
> 
> Check out my Instagram for more Klance and VLD drabbles and short fics: [staymagwrites](https://www.instagram.com/staymagwrites/)


End file.
